Both have removable HDD bays and a module 5.25-inch cage

Jun 18, 2014 12:51 GMT  ·  By

It may have started out with bizarre cases meant to grab attention more than anything else, but Lian Li has established a series of fairly normal cases over the years as well, as it knows not to try and push everyone out of their comfort zone. The PC-B16 and PC-A61 are two such cases.

Both of them mid-towers, the newcomers have overall the same size, but the PC-B16 is more bent on silent operation and has a front door, while the PC-A61 doesn't have that cover for the front panel.

That's the only difference between the two really. The former, the PC-B16, has sound absorbing foam on the side panels, as well as the top panel and lockable front door (so it's not just there for the sake of aesthetics).

So what are the main assets? Well, the modular 5.25-inch drive cage is an example, allowing you to use the space of three bays for whatever you wish, whether it be optical disk drive, SSD cages, fan controllers or water cooling reservoirs.

There are six HDD/SSD bays as well, and you won't have to worry that your drive may be too large or too small for them. While the bays are made for 3.5-inch storage devices, you can easily install 2.5-inch drives as well.

Moreover, there's room for one extra 2.5-inch drive behind the motherboard tray. This arrangement seems to be getting more and more popular by the year.

It's a good thing that the 3.5-inch bays can be removed too, because otherwise you wouldn't be able to fit particularly large video cards inside the Lian Li PC-B16 and PC-A61.

Indeed, the top add-in board length is of 420 mm, or 16.5 inches. Quite a leap from the 300 mm / 11.81 inches favored by most mid-range cases, and, indeed, some high-end ones too.

And because Lian Li just has to give something unusual to every chassis it makes, it has made it so that the top panel of the new cases can be removed (without tools!). It makes it possible to install 240/280mm radiators without needing to jostle or pull out every piece of hardware inside first.

Finally, the Lian Li PC-B16 and PC-A61 mid-tower desktop enclosures have retail prices of $239 and $239/ €239 and $199 / €199, respectively. It looks like that sound dampening foam is worth a lot. Both products have four USB 3.0 ports and HD audio jacks on the front.